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United States of South America
Politics President The President is the chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He is directly elected to a five year term by an absolute majority of the votes validly cast; furthermore, he must receive plurality of the votes validly cast in at least two-thirds of the states. This is done to ensure that the President is representative of the whole nation rather than of a specific region. Re-election is permitted, but consecutive re-election is not. There are no term limits. In order to be elected President, a candidate must meet the following qualifications: #He must be a natural-born citizen. #He must be 35 years of age or older. #He must be in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights. #He must have finished secondary school or its equivalent. #He must have been resident in the country for at least five years prior to the date of the election. Prior to taking the oath of office, a President-elect is required to vacate whatever political office (if any) that he currently holds. Officers of the armed forces or law enforcement may not be elected President unless they relinquish their position at least six months prior to the election. The President has power: #To direct the general policy of the State and to represent it. #To maintain the independence, honor, integrity, and inviolability of the Nation. #To maintain the peace and security of the Nation and repel any attack or foreign aggression. #To execute and enforce the Constitution, treaties and conventions, laws, and other legal dispositions. #To sanction, veto, publish, and promulgate laws passed by Congress. #To address Congress at any time, and to adjourn each ordinary legislative session. #To call Congress into special session, or propose an extension of the ordinary session. #To freely appoint and remove the secretaries of his cabinet, and other posts whose appointments are not assigned to other officials. #To direct foreign policy. #To conclude treaties and conventions, to be ratified by Congress. #To appoint the heads of diplomatic and consular missions. #To receive heads of state and diplomatic representatives. #To conduct economic and financial policy. #To confer military and civilian decorations. #To pardon and commute criminal sentences. #To declare war and peace in the event of congressional recess (although Congress must be called into session immediately on such occasion). #To allow or deny, with the authorization of Congress, troops of another country passage through the national territory. #To allow, with the authorization of the Congress, the output of South American troops to serve in foreign territory. #To perform such other functions as authorized by the Constitution and by the law. The President is assisted in his duties and functions by the Council of Ministers, or cabinet, comprising Ministers appointed by him to administer such departments of State as the President may designate. Ministers carry out their functions autonomously and on their own accord, within the limits prescribed by the President. Ministers serve during the pleasure of the President and may be removed by him at any time. At present, the Council of Ministers comprises the following members: *Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism: *Minister of Defense: *Minister of Economy and Public Finance: *Minister of Education and Culture: *Minister of Environment and Natural Resources: *Minister of Federal Planning, Public Investment, and Services: *Minister of Foreign Relations: *Minister of Health and Sports: *Minister of Interior: *Minister of Justice, Security, and Human Rights: *Minister of Labor, Employment, and Social Security: *Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries: Andrés Sí *Minister of Public Works and Housing: *Minister of State and National Property: *Minister of Transportation and Communications: *Minister of Women's Affairs: Living ex-Presidents *Carlos Andrés Pérez (1975 – 1980) *Julio María Sanguinetti (1985 – 1990), (1995 – 2000) *Alan García (1990 – 1995) *Ricardo Lagos (2000 – 2005) Congress The bicameral Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and comprises the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Chamber of Deputies The 240 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected from multi-member constituencies apportioned among the states on the basis of population, using d'Hondt's highest average method. Members serve for terms of four years, which are staggered so that half of the Chamber's members are up for election at one time and the remaining half two years later. There are no term limits. To be eligible for membership in Congress, a party must obtain at least 5% of the popular vote in each of the country's nine states, otherwise, regardless of its percentage of the popular vote, it will not obtain any seats. This is done to ensure that parties are broad-based and represent the entire nation, and not just regional or factional interests. The Chamber has the exclusive power to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the Ministers, and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate. In order to be elected to the Chamber of Deputies, a candidate must meet the following qualifications: #He must have been a citizen for at least six years prior to the date of the election. #He must be 21 years of age or older. #He must be in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights. #He must have finished secondary school or its equivalent. #He must have been resident in the corresponding electoral district (constituency) for at least two years prior to the date of the election. Senate The Senate serves as the upper house of Congress. Senators are elected by direct election on a state basis, with the party with the most votes being awarded two of the state's Senate seats and the second-place party receiving the third seat. Currently one-third of the members are elected every two years to a six-year term: in other words, one-third of the state hold senatorial elections every two years. There are no restrictions on repeated re-election. In addition to elected senators, former Presidents of South America are senators by right for life (although those that were removed from office are ineligible for Senate membership), unless they become subject to any disabilities that would cause them to be disqualified from holding membership in the Senate. The Senate has the exclusive power to ratify treaties and to try all impeachments. The Senate is presided over by the Vice-President, who has the casting vote in the event of ties; however, he is not a member. The Senate currently has 31 members: 27 elected senators and 4 former Presidents of South America. In order to be elected to the Senate, a candidate must meet the following qualifications: #He must have been a citizen for at least six years prior to the date of the election. #He must be 30 years of age or older. #He must be in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights. #He must have finished secondary school or its equivalent. #He must have been resident in the corresponding state for at least two years prior to the date of the election. Congressional seats by party to be continued Argentina Bolivia Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela Category:Nations